Sunday, January 15, 2012

2010 Magnotta Harvest Moon Vidal (Ontario VQA)

A medium-sweet Vidal, attractively packaged in a deep blue 750 ml bottle. Synthetic cork closure. $9.95 at the Magnotta retail outlet; 12.6% alc./vol.

The Vidal pours with a pretty, semi-unctuous straw hue and brilliant clarity. A beautiful mix of ripe tropical fruits rises out of the glass: pineapple, tangerine, fresh orange juice, Granny Smith apple, and that note of spicy passionfruit that is so typical in sweeter versions of Vidal.  Laser-crisp acidity on the entry, well wrapped in a blanket of residual sweetness (7 g/l). Crisp/sweet texture, but the acidity never lets up bringing on the tang - so this wine still works decidedly well at the dinner table. Lots of citrusy tangerine / pink-grapefruit zest in the finish, which again is fleshed out nicely by another dose of residual... A very pleasing wine indeed.

Even though I am partial to dry wine across the entire vinous spectrum, I still find the occasion now and then to enjoy a late-harvest Vidal - one of Ontario's true gems, and with a close heritage to another regional highlight: icewine.

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